This disclosure relates generally to detection and characterization of nucleic acids. More specifically this disclosure relates to determining the sequences of nucleic acids.
One's genome provides a blue print for predicting many inherent predispositions such as one's likes and dislikes, talents, susceptibility to disease and responsiveness to therapeutic drugs. The human genome contains a sequence of over 3 billion nucleotides and it is the differences in just a fraction of those nucleotides that determines unique characteristics of an individual. The research community is making impressive strides in unraveling the link between genomic sequence and the living structures they encode. However, a more complete understanding will require that tens-of-thousands or millions of genomes be sequenced. Then scientists will be able to correlate the complexities of the genetic code with the variety of human characteristics. Furthermore, beyond the research effort, the costs must come down in order to usher in the day when each person will have a copy of their own personal genome so that they can sit down with their doctor to determine appropriate choices for a healthy lifestyle or a proper course of treatment.
Several commercial sequencing platforms are available, and although they provide an accurate tool for sequencing on the scale of entire genomes, they are still prohibitively expensive for wide deployment across large populations of individuals. What is needed is a reduction in the cost of sequencing that drives large genetic correlation studies carried out by research scientists and that makes sequencing accessible in hospitals and clinics to facilitate the informed treatment of individual patients making life changing decisions. The inventions set forth herein satisfy this need and provide other advantages as well.